Mooring apparatus for airships



June 7, 1932.

E. W. BOWERS MOORING APPARATUS FOR AIRSHIFS Filed Feb. 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l Y 15 ,5 a 5 @/5 'I .l 1.90 ,ff Z; Z1' e @mi ig .Ii 73! f4 V d 1i v I M qu 5 L@ 44 l 4/ I 5 M 45 5 ,el

M M y M i0 45 45 fa M .5/ 46' f M, i152. .54 3 "9M j o 3f U I I I y 0 0 D o \o I f E. W. BOWERS June 7, 1932.

MOORING APPARATUS FOR`AIRSHIPS Filed Feb. le, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 7, 1932.

E. w. BOWERS 1,861,780

MOORING APPARATUS FOR AIRSHIPS Filed Feb. 16, 1951 3 SheBtS-Sheet 3 Zneu ital;

@Amm @QW Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED STATES EDWARD W. BOWERS, OFMEDINA.NEW YORK MOORING- APPARATUS FOR AIRSHIPS Application led February 16, 1931. VSerial No. 515,996.

This invention relates to an apparatus for mooring airships 1 and for controlling their landing movements.

.Y 'It has for one of its objects to provide an apparatus of this character which is designed to simply and etl'ectually control the movement of the ship after being moored to the mast, Whether it be to lower the ship to an d elevation topermit of the admission or discharge of passengers or freight, or whether it be to guide the ship into vits hangar.

Another object of the invention is the provision oan apparatusof this character hav- K ing al revolvable mooringv mast or turret and companion revolvable elevator means for controlling theamovements ofthe ship to and from the tower.

A further object is to .provide a'mooring 4 mast having means for guiding the ship ra- 29 dially relativelythereto in conjunction with a portable device for'guiding the ship to and from its hangar.

Other features of the invention reside in the combination and structural arrangement of parts hereinafter describedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a sideelevation'of a. mooring appara-tus embodying my invention. Figure .30 `2 is a front view thereof. Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the radial guide track andassociated. parts. Figure 4 is a perspective View of the portable mast for v 'propelling the ship to and from its hangar. Figure 5 is an `enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical section taken on line 5 5, Figure 2. Figure -6 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 6 6, Figure 1. `Figure 7 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken o on line- 7--7,-Figure Figure 8 `isa front perspective View of the mooring mast and the portable towers associated therewith.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 1

.In its general organization, this mooring apparatus comprises a stationary central tower or mast, a revolvable tower or turret mounted at the upper end'of the central mast, av shiftable coupling device applied to the turret for connecting the airship thereto,fa carrier revolvably mounted on'the `central mast 4below the turret and having` elevator means for shifting the coupling device from the turret to a lower level, and portable masts to which the lowered airship is connectedf'or supported for conveying the-same to itshangar- The stationary tower l0 may be :made of structural vsteel or of anyxotherappropriate construction and it `is vpreferablyprovided at its upper end wi th a platformy 11 on which a revolvable turret 12 ismounted,l the same being shown. supported4 on an upright post 13 and on casters or wheels lil-,which ride over the platform. AThis turret may berevolve'd in any suitable manner and; the same may constitute a control room for theattendant oflthe mooring mast. -Mounted at one side of this turret and firmly anchored thereto by bracketsl, is a guide member or channel 16 disposed in a substantially-upright.po-

sition and containing a vertically slidable cross-head 17 to whichA a couplingpmember -18yis applied, the latter servingas a medium 7 for connecting the airsh-ip thereto.

By way of example, the coupling member is shown provided with a hook 19 and the fairship .is provided at its nose end with a coupling eye 2O for detachable engagement therewith. Projecting outwardly from the turret andon opposite sides of the guide member 16 are bumper arms 21 which project forw dly some distance beyond the coupling hoor 19 and serve to cushion the ship duringthe act of mooring it to the mast.

As shown in Figure 5, the cross-head1 17 is normally held against 'downward movement by a retractable stop or abutment 22 which I projects into the channel way of the guide 5` member land is controlled by anactuating lever 23 disposed with the turret 12.

Mounted on the mast 10 below the turret 12 are upper and lower annular tracks 24 and 24a, respectively, on which is guided a subc stantially upright carrier preferably consisting of a guide rail 25 provided' at its vupper end 'with a suspension roller'26 engaging the track 24 and at its lower end with a shoe27 engaging the' lower: track'24a. This carrier CIB may be propelled around its guide tracks in any suitable manner and it is adapted to be presented in vertical alinement with the guide member 16 on the turret when it is desired to raise or lower the airship. For the purpose of raising and lowering the airship, the carrier 25 is provided with a suitable elevator consisting of an endless belt or cable 28 disposed lengthwise of this carrier and passing at its upper end around a pulley 29 and at its lower end around a pulley 30 adapted to be driven in one direction or the other by a reversible electric motor 31 suitably supported at the lowerend of the carrier. Secured to the elevator-cable 28 for movement therewith is a cross-head 32 guided in a longitudinal slot 33 of the carrier-rail 25 and having a hook 34 or like coupling element vfor detachably connecting the crosshead 32 with the companion cross head 17 to which the airship is adapted to be connected in :the manner heretofore .described As shown in Figure 5, the hook 34 is adapted to interlock with a companion latching element 35 on the cross-head 17, andra spring 36 normally urges this hook in a direction to automatically interlock with the element 35, a deflecting member 37 being provided to guide and direct said hook into interlocking engagement with the cross-head 17 preparatory to the latter being lowered by the elevating head 32 when it is desired to bring the airship to a lower level, say for discharging passengers or freight,or for taking the ship into its hangar.

For the purpose of directing the airship into its hangar, I provide portable masts 38 and 39, each of which is preferably mounted on wheels 40 engaging a track 41 having a portion 42 which extends circumferentially around the stationary mast 10, in the manner shown in Figure 8. @ne of these portable masts is provided with a suitable coupling device 43 with which the coupling eye 20 of the airship is adapted to engage, while the other portable mast 39 has a supporting yoke 44 at its upper end to which the tail end of the airship is suitably connected, the ship being sustained between the two masts in the manner shown in Figure 8, making it an easy task to propel the same over the tracks to and from the hangar.

In order to facilitate the transference of the airship from the lower end of the carrier 25 to the portable mast 38 and vice versa, I provide a laterally projectible guide rail or arm 45 which acts as a support or extension for the carrier in transferring the coupling head 18 from the carrier to a point where the ship can be conveniently coupled to or uncoupled `from the portable mast 38. To this end, the arm 45 is preferably fulcrumed at 46 to the lower end of the carrier and is adapted to swing in a vertical plane to assume the inoperative position shown by full lines in Figure 2 or the operative position shown by dotted lines in said figure and by full lines in Figur-es 3 and 7. This guide rail or arm 45 is shiftable to the positions ust described by means of a cable 47 connected at one end to the arm and passing at its other end around a windlass 48 suitably mounted on the carrier, as shown in Figure 2. Said guide rail 45 has a longitudinal slot or guideway 49 which is adapted to receive the coupling member 18, the latter being shiftable into and out of the cross-head 17 during the act of preparing the ship for taking of and for preparing for its removal from the mast into the hangar'. In order to effect the ready application and removal of the coupling member 18 to and from its cross-head 17 for the purpose just described, said cross-head has a slot 50 which is open at one end and which is adapted in its lowered position to register with the guideway 49 in the arm 45, as seen in Figure 3. In this position of the parts, the coupling member 18 can be readily transferred from the cross-head 17 to the arm 45 and vice versa. The shiftable guide arm may be reliably supported in Vits horizontal position by an abutment or brace 51.

During the transference of the airship on to the portable tower 38, the latter is brought into engagement with the outer end. of the arm 45 and for this purpose said tower has an anchoring yoke or rest 52 in whichthe end of the arm is adapted to seat.

Briefiy stated, the operation of this mooring apparatus is as follows:

Assume the parts to be in the position shown in Figure 1 and that an airship is approaching the mast to be anchored thereto. When approaching the mast, a guy line may be dropped from the ship tothe attendant of the mooring mast or -the shipy may` be guided by its own power directly to the mast, after which its eye 20 is connected vto the hook 19 on the coupling member 18. Should it be desired to lower the ship to discharge passengers or direct the same into its hangar, the cross-head 32 is raised by the elevating cable 28 to the elevated position shown in Figure 5, its hook .34 being coupled with the companion element 35 on the cross head 17; at this time the arm 454 is lowered to the horizontal position shown in Figure 3. The retractible stop 21 which normally supports the cross-head 17 is now retracted and power is applied to the elevating cable 28, to cause the cross-head 32 to be lowered on its carrier 25 and pull the cross-head 17, to which the airship is coupled, with it. Thus the ship is brought to a lower level and when the coupling member 18 reaches a position opposite the horizontally disposed guide arm 45its motion is arrested, and the same is then transferred to said guide arm to move the ship outwardly from the mooring mast to apposition where the same can be conveniently coupled to the portable mast 38.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described, and that various changes therein and modifications thereof may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing its advantages.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, a revolving turret mounted on the upper end of said mast and including a shiftable element for coupling an airship thereto, a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret and including a guideway, and an elevating element movable in said guideway and adapted for operative engagement with said shittable coupling element.

2. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, a revolving turret mounted on the upper end of said mast and including a shiftable element for coupling an airship thereto, a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret and including a guideway, an elevating element movable in said guideway, and a hook applied to said elevating element for detachable engagement with said shiftable coupling element.

3. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, a revolving turret mounted on the upper end of said mast and having a guideway therein, a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret and having a guideway therein arranged for alinement with said turret-guideway, an elevating element movable in said carrierguideway, a shiftable coupling` head for an airship normally seated in said turret-guideway, and means for connecting the elevating clement with said coupling head to cause the latter to move with the former.

4. A mooring apparatus for airships` comprising a mast, a revolving turret mounted on the upper end of said mast and having a guideway therein, a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret and having a guideway therein arranged for alinement with said turret-guideway, an elevating element movable in said carrier-guideway, a shiftable coupling head for an airship normaly seated in said turret-guideway, a releasable stop for normally1 supporting' said coupling head in its guideway, and a hook applied to said elevating element for detachable engagement with said shiftable coupling element.

5. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, a turret mounted on the upper end of said mast, a shitable element for coupling an airship thereto, and a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret, andlinclu'ding alongitudinal and lateral" guideway for said shiftable *coupling element;

6. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, a turret mounted on the upper endfof saidmast, a shiftable element for:

coupling'an airship thereto, a carrier revolvablymounted on the mast below saidturret andf'inc-'luding a longitudinal guideway, anr

)risino` a mast a revolving turret mounted on the upper end ot said mast and having a guideway therein, a carrier revolvably mounted on the mast below said turret and having a guideway therein arranged for alinement with said turret-guideway, an elevating element movable in said carrier-guideway, a cross-head normally arranged in said turret guideway and adapted for connection to said elevator for movement in said carrierguideway, a coupling element applied to said cross-head and to which an airship is adapted to be connected, and an arm projecting from the lower end of said carrier and having a guideway therein intersecting thev carrierguideway, said coupling element being releasable from the cross-head in the lowermost position of the latter and transferable therefrom to said arm-guideway.

Y 8. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a mast, superposed members mounted on said mast for relative movement about the same, shiftable means on one of said memy bers for coupling an airship thereto, and elevating means on the other of said members adapted for operative engagement with said coupling means for shifting the same lengthwise of the mast.

9. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising aV stationary tower and a substantially7 upright guideway thereon, a guide member engaging said guide and having a transferable coupling element thereon to which an airship is adapted for connection, an arm eX- tending laterally from said tower and having a guideway therein for receiving said transferable coupling element, and a. portable tower movable toward and from the stationary tower and having means for temporarily joining it to the outer end of said arm, said portable tower also including means for connecting the airship thereto.

10. A mooring apparatus for airships, comprising a stationary tower and a substantially upright guideway thereon, a guide member engaging said guide and having a transferable coupling element thereon to which an airship is adapted for connection, elevator means for raising and lowering said guide' member, an arm extending laterally from said tower adjacent the lower end of its guidef way and having a guideway therein for refceiving said transferable coupling element,

and a portable tower movable toward and from the stationary tower and having means for temporarily joining it to the outer end of said arm, said portable tower also including means for eonneetin the airship thereto. EDWV RD WV. BOWERS. 

